Hello AramaJapan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw Kumamushi come out on top again, this time against Johnny’s WEST. Kumamushi is trying to extend their reign again against another newcomer. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Oricon #1: Shibutani Subaru – Kioku / Kokoro Odoreba (not released digitally)

Ronald: Kioku – I’m actually really surprised by this song. The song is actually pretty decent. It’s quite unexpected coming from a Johnny’s act. First of all, how often do you hear a harmonica in any song nowadays? There’s also an unexpected amount of raw emotion here. His voice really works well for this type of music. He should do more of this instead of making those silly, childish songs his group normally makes. 7/10

Kokoro Odoreba – Again, an unexpected song that surprisingly works given the source. Pretty much everything I said about the song before applies to this one as well. This is a more upbeat song but it’s a nice complement to “Kioku” on the single. There’s a guitar bit on here that I like that reminds me of a song I would listen to myself. Listening to these songs makes me question why he’s wasting his time in a boyband. 6.5 /10

Total: 6.75/10

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Recochoku #1 / iTunes #1: Kumamushi – Attakaindakara (Oricon #10)

Ronald: Same review as last week – This is an interesting song. There’s a bit of a bait and switch here. At first the song start off as your typical folky pop song but in the middle, things change. The song becomes a lot more upbeat, more fun, a bit funky. I was pleasantly surprised by this. It made me a lot more interested in the song. It made me feel a bit warm in the end. 6.5/10

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Ronald’s Rank:

1. Oricon #1: Shibutani Subaru – Kioku / Kokoro Odoreba

2. Recochoku #1 / iTunes #1: Kumamushi – Attakaindakara